


My Younger Self

by Linorien



Series: 007 Fest 2020 [14]
Category: James Bond (Craig movies), James Bond - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Inspired by Miraculous Ladybug
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-16
Updated: 2020-07-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25294777
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien
Summary: A new threat has risen and it will take not one, not two, but seven miraculous users to defeat it. It wouldn't be so hard if they weren't all kids again.
Series: 007 Fest 2020 [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1810804
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11
Collections: 007 Fest Fancreations





	My Younger Self

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Alley Cat of London](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25159972) by [Linorien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien). 
  * Inspired by [Secrets, Spots, and Spies](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25168486) by [Linorien](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Linorien/pseuds/Linorien). 



> Ummm so I guess I made more. Once again, this fic suffers from 'Lin had too many cool ideas for character alter egos and now there are too many characters to handle in a short story' syndrome.  
> If you want to know more about these miraculous characters, check out [these tumblr posts.](https://spiritofcamelot.tumblr.com/tagged/miraculous-mi6)

They each received a letter. 

_ Dear Bubbles/Savanna/White Knight/Luminary/Storm Snake/Chat Noir/Ladybug, _

_ I do not know how long it has been since you last used your miraculous but the world needs you. The Octopus miraculous has been corrupted. I need you to help stop the user before it becomes too late.  _

_ In case it has been a long time since you last used your miraculous, a word of warning. You are aware that your transformation changes your appearance slightly, but you may find it a more significant change now. When you first used your miraculous, you decided what your identity would look like whenever you put it on. What I’m trying to say is you will be back in your child-self’s body.  _

_ However, since you have grown as a person, you will find that you have more strength. Some of you may not need to speak your transformation commands and you will be able to hold the transformation for much longer after you use your special power.  _

_ In order to make sure the danger is stopped, I am calling on other miraculous users to help you. Some you may have met before, but many of you have not. As always, keep your identity secret.  _

_ Please meet me on the roof of the Tate Friday night at 8. You’ll meet the others then and I will tell you what I know.  _

_ Master Mari _

And they all showed up at the appointed time and place. 

Strawberry had had the hardest time finding her miraculous. It was a scrunchie. Honestly she’d lost so many over the years, why did anyone thing this would be a good object for a miraculous? When she finally found it, being used as a napkin ring, she realised her hair was now too short for it. In her line of work, she needed the short hair to more easily tuck up beneath wigs and she’d rather grown to like the length. Hoping for the best, she put it on her wrist and spoke her transformation command. Looking in the mirror, she questioned her younger self’s decision to have a costume that drew attention to her butt. 

That night, she went out for a quick patrol around the neighborhood, relearning how to move, marvelling at how short she was. She’d always been the short friend so she forgot just how much she had grown since she was thirteen. 

The next morning, she booked a plane ticket to London and arranged to stay with some old friends. 

* * *

Mallory wore his diamond tie pin every day. He had since he became M. It became an escape for him. On nights when he lost sight of what he was doing all this for,  _ who _ he was doing all this for, he transformed and stalked the rooftops of London. Dressed all in white he wasn’t the most discrete, but compared to the double-ohs he was practically invisible. 

On metal wings he swooped in to stop assaults outside of pubs and to deter stalkers. Small things to him, but hopefully they had a large impact on the person’s life. He never made the news due to the nature of his acts. 

But that didn’t stop him from recognising the look of another miraculous user when they made the news. It was a much younger miraculous user. In her red spotted outfit she looked uncomfortable as the news cameras swarmed her after catching a falling helicopter. Despite her youth, she answered questions succinctly and was able to quickly get out of the limelight. 

Only when he read the letter did he realise that he was younger when he was transformed. He’d simply assumed the added athleticism came from the miraculous. Certainly just looking in the mirror he looked the same age. Then again, with his costume on you could only see his lower face and a little bit of hair behind the feathers. 

* * *

On Friday night, Tanner caused his wife to tell her he would be home late tonight and not to wait up. Then he clipped on his ear cuff and as soon as he thought about transforming, he did. He closed his eyes against the bright flash and when he opened them he nearly fell over. He’d completely forgotten that his vision changed with the transformation. He hadn’t understood when he was ten and he still didn’t understand, but his eyes bulged like a fish and he could see a little over 180 degrees all at once. He looked at the bubble wand in his hand and created a large bubble to use as a mirror. 

The letter had warned him that he would be younger, but he’d forgotten just how young he was when he got his miraculous. Thinking back, it had only been a month after his tenth birthday. The face staring back at him was unrecognizable. Had his cheeks really still been this chubby? Then he realised he was, at least to all appearances, younger than both of his kids. 

Running away from that fact, he opened his office window and flipped up to the roof. Although, he had a worse thought. Master Mari mentioned that there may be other miraculous users there and that their identities must remain a secret. There was no mention of if they were new users or older, but with no way to tell, he would have to act his age. 

This would be so embarrassing if anyone ever found out. 

* * *

Eve stood taller than the other miraculous users on the roof of the Tate. Which, given her 11-inch heels, wasn’t surprising. Utterly impractical in the rest of her life, but with her miraculous, miraculous things could happen. Which, to her fifteen-year-old self meant being taller than anyone else. 

She’d never met anyone else who had a miraculous, so she was fascinated by everyone’s costumes as they all landed on the roof. She was actually really jealous of the one who introduced himself as White Knight. She knew instantly that he held the swan miraculous. What she didn’t know was whether she was more in love with the costume or the striking man that wore it. 

They went around in a circle and introduced themselves. While she couldn’t say for certain who was older than they appeared, she did note that Storm Snake, White Knight, and Chat Noir were quick to introduce themselves and seemed comfortable in their costumes. They were probably much closer to the age they appeared and still used their miraculous often. Bubbles struck her as a very new miraculous user. He seemed almost too naive and he kept staring at his webbed fingers. 

Luminary and Ladybug were the two she was least sure of. Luminary had a sort of reserved confidence, though she stumbled over her name. Likely it had been some years for her too. Eve also detected a bit of an accent, though she didn’t speak long enough for Eve to place it. 

Ladybug had also paused when it was her turn, but she said her name with confidence. And when she did, Eve suddenly remembered seeing her in the news just a few weeks ago. She’d stopped a helicopter from crashing into the ground. So clearly she was actively still using her miraculous. However, the way she stepped forward to take charge and ask information of Master Mari spoke of someone who was experienced in this game. 

“I do not know much,” Master Mari said. “I know that they have taken the octopus miraculous and they have been using it to pull off elaborate crimes that I’m sure go beyond what I know. Its clear that she is not working alone and many of her crimes were only aided by her abilities, but there were many other pieces.”

“Could you give us more details? Where she is operating?” Ladybug asked. 

“And can you share what skills the octopus miraculous grants her?” Chat Noir added. 

Master Mari nodded. “She appears to be operating in Switzerland, though the chaos caused is worldwide. Her primary weapon is smoke bombs. But be warned, they also create a splatter of tar that will glue you to the ground. Like some of you, she has the ability to scale walls. I do not know which bonus power has manifested for her, there are many to choose from. However, I don’t believe she has been in possession of the miraculous long, so it is likely underdeveloped.”

“Although that make her more dangerous,” White Knight said. 

“Indeed it might, which is why I have taken a risk by summoning all of you. Take a week to prepare, then next week I’ll expect to hear news of your work in Switzerland.”

* * *

Q wasn’t an idiot. He requested time off for personal reasons and tweaked the logs so that they were submitted on Thursday. Then he started researching. 

* * *

Jason was already on personal leave after a rough mission. He’d just tell medical his headaches had returned. No one would question his need for a little more peace and quiet. 

* * *

M had the luxury of being able to schedule a work trip to Switzerland. Conveniently there was to be an international conference on improving efficiency in the workplace and he asked Q to sign him up. “And put Bill and Eve down as extras.”

* * *

Q wasn’t an idiot. He recognised James Bond no matter what he looked like. He knew there was a charm to make other eyes glide off of you to avoid people recognising you, but no charm could cover up the way he moved, the way he talked, the way he flirted. And no one else made such terrible puns. So when he began to dig up information on a group trying to revitalise Spectre, he suggested that Bond be assigned a reconnaissance mission. 

“James, you’re willing to do this?” M asked. “It seems below your paygrade.”

Bond shrugged. “A few weeks in the alps? Sounds more like a vacation than work. I don’t wanna let anyone else take this mission.”

M sighed. “If you insist.” He signed the paper work. “I trust Q branch will arrange your flight and any technology you need.”

* * *

Nine days later and the team was assembled in the Swiss alps. 

“We can’t just go charging in,” Ladybug insisted. 

James Bond rolled his eyes. “How else were you planning on doing this? They have guards everywhere. We’re just kids. Our best chance is speed.”

“Are you trying to say they won’t shoot us cause we’re kids?”

“It’d be great if that was true, but I’m not that naive.”

Luminary interrupted. “Many of us have night vision right? And I can create lights, why don’t we sneak in at night?”

Bond couldn’t think of a reason why not. And evidently neither could Ladybug. Somehow they had become the natural leaders of the group. 

So that night they split up and infiltrated the command center of Spectre 2.0. 

Ladybug, Storm Snake, and Bubbles went off in one group while Bond took Savanna, White Knight, and Luminary. 

* * *

Apparently, the octopus miraculous allowed the user to made 7 clones of themself. All eight were smaller than Strawberry, but it still made the battle more difficult. It was a good thing there were seven of them. Although there were all the guards too. Yet the most difficult part, Jason found, was not swearing. 

Sure, some of the others looked to be teens and they definitely had heard some mild swearing at least, but a few of them didn’t even look thirteen yet. He would not be the one to introduce them to his vulgar language. He swore like a sailor on mission but he needed to remember that this was different. This time, when he slithered on his belly to spy on the enemy there was no one in his ear. 

But otherwise it felt remarkably like a mission. He did use his miraculous on missions often. If the other double-ohs could turn into a snake to gather intel, he knew they would. Especially in the tropics where snakes in the house were expected. 

So he shocked the guards while the others destroyed some structures and whatever else their skills let them do. He was pretty sure White Knight trapped people in their reflection and he didn’t know how that worked. But slowly they destroyed each of the clones.

Then it was just the strange woman herself left. He didn’t know how she could see through the huge helmet and if he didn’t already know she was a miraculous user, the mere fact that the helmet twice the size of her head didn’t throw her off balance or weigh her down would be a good indicator. That and the tentacle skirt that really did make her look and walk like an octopus. 

But one of her was no match for seven of them. Savanna’s slingshot made the first dent in her helmet and Bubbles came in swinging with his staff next. Chat Noir destroyed her tentacles and without the helmet, Luminary could hypnotise her enough to snatch the miraculous necklace. And White Knight helped him keep the guards occupied while Ladybug put the miraculous in her yo-yo to purify the miraculous. 

Chat Noir said that he would take care of contacting local authorities to clean up the operation. And so they parted ways. He suspected Ladybug stayed behind to ensure no one escaped. 

* * *

When Q brought the miraculous back to Master Mari, he went as himself. He wasn’t sure if she would recognise him so he was hesitant as he walked in. “Master Mari, its me. Er, Ladybug.”

If the gender difference was news to her, she accepted it without even blinking. “Good evening. I sense you have the octopus miraculous for me.”

“I do.” He handed her the necklace and watched in amazement as the music box spiraled open. The engineer in him really wanted to take it apart and see how it was all put together. “I also have something else for you.” He handed over the small box with the spotted earrings. 

Master Mari looked up at him. “You are sure? You can never take them back.”

“I’m sure,” Q said. “I’ve got other ways of saving the world now.”

She smiled. “That you do.” She reached out a hand, then tilted her head, considering. “Given what we saw this week, I think it may be time for the miraculous to go to someone a little older than you were. I believe you can find someone who embodies the ideals of Ladybug.”

Instantly, Q knew just the person. 

He put the box back in his pocket and pulled out a card. “Even though I’m no longer Ladybug, if there’s anything you need, I’m always happy to be of assistance. Especially if you need Chat Noir’s help.”

She took the card, considering. “Can I send the others to you too?”

For a moment, Q was surprised. But then a couple more puzzle pieces fell into place and he started to see a remarkable pattern. “I believe they already do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Somewhere in here is a really cool ideal for a reversal of Shazam where your superhero identity is permanently a child. But apparently this story was not really the one two explore it in. *Files away for future original novel*


End file.
